Lewis f



(No Model.)

L. F. GRISWOLD.

SPRING ROLLER.

No. 440,428. Patented Nov. 11, 1890.

INVENTOR-I Attorney.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

LElVIS F. GRISWOLD, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHARLES PARKER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPRING-ROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 440,428, dated November 11, 1890.

Application filed July 10, 1889.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Lnwls F. GRISWOLD, of Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spring-Rollers for VVindow-Shades, &c.; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My invention relates to sprin groll or sprin gdrum suspension devices, such as maybe employed for the support of window-shades or other articles to be suspended in an adj ustable manner; and it consists in certain novel features of construction, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and which will be more particularly pointed out and distinctly defined in the claims of this specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and use the same, either in the form shown or under any modification thereof, I will now proceed to more fully describe my invention, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which I have shown my invention as applied to a spring-roller for the suspension of a windowshade.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation, with some of the parts shown in section, of a spring shaderoller having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of the parts seen at Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow at the right-hand end of said view. Fig. 3 is an end view of the contrivance shown at Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow at the lefthand side of said figure.

In the several figures the same parts will be found designated by the same letters of reference.

A is an ordinary spring shade-roller (of either metal or wood) provided with the usual or any approved form of actuating-spring A,

arranged within the roller, and which is wound up to the desired degree of tension, and is retained in such adjustment by means of the 5 winding shaft or rod B, all in a manner sub- Serial No. 317,069. (No model.)

stantially like that common to spring shaderollers. In lieu however, of having the protruding end of the spring-winding shaft or stem B locked or maintained in the proper condition to prevent the roller-spring from unwinding by any of the usual means, said shaft B is locked in position through the medium of a crank-arm D, one end of which is securely fastened to the portion 1) of said shaft and a combined hand-piece and lockingstem E f, which is adj ustably connected-with the other end of said crank-arm in a manner to be presently explained, and which is ar ranged and operates to effect an engagement with the usual bracket C, arranged at one side of the window-frame, and in the bearing of which is mounted and turns the journallike portion of the protruding end of the winding-shaft B. Said bracket C may be made of precisely the form shown or of some other suitable shape, and may be secured in place in the usual manner, as shown, by means of ordinary screws 0.

The adjustable hand piece E, which, as above mentioned, performs also the function of a locking device to maintain the winding shaft Bin any position to which it may be set, is formed, as clearly shown, with a spindlelike body portion f, from one end of which extends the handle-like portion and at the opposite end of which is formed a collar or head g,which serves to prevent the withdrawal of said body portion f from the aperture or role in the small end of the crank-arm D, within which hole said body portion f is, however, free to slide longitudinally.

At Fig. 1 I have shown this combined handle and locking device in one position in full lines and in another in dotted lines, the latter of which positions represents said device adjusted to the position which it occupies when it is desired to wind up or adjust the actuating-spring of the shade-roller to any requisite degree of tension and the former that position which said device occupies after the spring shall have been wound up and the said device pushed into the proper position to eifect at its inner end or in the vicinity of the head 9 an engagement or interlocking with the bracket C of the shade-fixture.

At the opposite end of the roller A is arranged a mechanism or means by which I am enabled to exert a frictional impediment to the rotation of. the roll on its axis during the winding up of the shade, that gradually increases in its brake-power or in the degree of its frictional resistance to the rotation of the roll in substantially the same ratio as the tension of the actuating-spring of said roll increases during the winding up of the latter and the lowering of the shade which depends therefrom. This automatic variable brake mechanism or frictional impediment to the rotation of the roll consists, as shown, essentially of, first, a spiral spring j, which simply encircles at one end a hub-like projection on the ratchet-disk i, that bears against the friction-disk h, and at its other end encircles the boss-like portion or projection on the inner end of the set-nut K, as clearly shown, and which is thus held in place; second, a screwthreaded shaft G, permanently secured to the end of the shade-roller by means of rollereap a that embraces the disk-like base N, and having its threaded portion projecting therefrom, as shown; third, the set-nut K; fourth, a supporting-bracket C within the hub-like portion of which is mounted the said nut K in the manner shown; fifth, the pawl J pivoted to said bracket C and engaging with the toothed periphery of the ratchetdisk 2', and, sixth, the nut-retainingset-screw M, these parts arranged and operating together after the fashion which I will now explain.

The brake-disk or circular friction-plate h is simply perforated for the accommodation of the hub-like projection of the cap-piece c and as one end of the coiled spring j presses against the ratchet-disk e, between which and the cap-piece a said friction-plate is confined, and as the other end of said spring presses against the set-nut K, that surrounds the threaded shaft G and is mounted in the bracket 0 it will be easily understood that whenever the ratchet-disk 2', together with the disk h, is free to rotate with the shaderoller A no appreciable impediment to the rotation of said roll will be effected by the presence of said devices, and that when, however, the rotation of the roll may be in that direction which operates to turn the ratchetdisk 2' through frictional contact with disk 72, in a manner to effect a positive engagement between its teeth and the pawl L, then the said devices will be maintained in a fixed position circumferentially of the spindle Gr, while the shade-roll and said spindle rotate, and that then a frictional impediment to the turning of the shade-roll will be offered proportionate in the degree of its resistance to the expan sive pressure that may at the time be exerted by the spring-j, the tendency of which is ever to force the ratchet-disk 1' against the friction-plate h, and thus create friction between the contacting surfaces of the latter, the disk h, and the disk '5. The disk h is not fastened to anything, but might be fastened to either the device a or that lettered 1 Now, as before remarked, the protruding end or portion of the spindle G is threaded to engage with the female thread or nut K, that is mounted in the hub-like portion of the bracket 0 and the action and operation of this threaded portion of the spindle G and its nut K with reference to the action of the actuatingspring A of the roller, Aare such that when the said roller may be turned in the proper direction to lower the shade and wind up the said actuating-spring the threaded engagement of said spindle G with the nut K, that is held against rotation within the hub of the bracket 0 by the set-screw M, will cause the shade-roll A to move bodily endwise in the direction indicated by the arrow :20 at Fig. l, by which endwise movement the spiral sprin g j will be compressed, so as to increase its forcible action upon the ratchet-disk i, and through it on the friction-plate h, in about the same proportion as the tension of the actuating-spring A of the roller is increased. Hence when the lowered shade shall be partially or whollylifted, to permit the actuating-spring of the roller to take up the slack or rewind the-shade, the actuating-spring, instead of pulling up the shade with a force due to its increased tension, will have this increased tension counteracted by the brake-power of the frictiondisk h, which, together with the spring j and ratchet-disk 1 is now prevented (by pawl L) from turning with the shade-roll A, this brake-power or frictional impediment of said plate h gradually decreasing, however, as the actuating-spring winds up the shade, by reason of the winding-up action of the shade-roller causing the threaded shank 0 to effect a return endwise movement of the shade-roller, (in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow at Fig. 1,) whereby the shade-roller will be returned to that position which it occupied before the shade was pulled down and that in which the brakepower or impediment exercised by the friction-plate h will be at its minimum. Thus it Will be seen that in the operation of a spring rolleror drum provided with means shown for automatically applying av gradually-increasing brake-power or frictional impediment during the winding up of the actuating-spring of the roll and for applying such brake with constantIy-decreasin g frictional force as said actuating-spring is unwound I am enabled to perfectlycompensate for thevariable tension of the actuating-spring of the roller or drum during the operations of the spring suspension device. Of course it will be understood that as the pith or essence of my invention with I reference to this feature of the shown contrivance rests, essentially, in the idea of combining with the spring-actuated drum or roller some suitable means for applying a brake or impediment automatically with constantly-increasing force during the winding up of the actuating-spring and with a constantly-decreasing force during the unwinding of the actuating-spring, some other precise construction or combination of devices from that shown and described may be substituted for the devices or combination herein set forth without departing from the spirit of this feature of my invention.

By means of the combination, with the winding shaft B, (of the drum actuating spring,) of a crank-arm D, provided with an adjustable hand-piece adapted to perform the double function of a handle and locking device when variously adjusted, as hereinbefore described, I am enabled to conveniently unlock, wind up, or further Wind and relock the spring-winding shaft B without removing the shade roller and its attachments from the brackets in which the shadefiXture is supported or suspended. It will, however, be understood that the fruits of this feature or portion of my novel contrivance may be enjoyed to an advantageous extent even though the hand-piece E should not be made adjustable, so as to perform the two functions of a handle and a locking device, as the handle portion E could be permanently secured to the crank-arm D in the position indicated in full lines at Fig. 1, and a separate locking device employed for preventing the turning of the shaft B whenever it might not be desired to manipulate said shaft by means of the crank-arm D and its handle E.

Vishing it to be understood that I do not propose to restrict my invention with reference to either of the separate features or parts thereof to the precise detail constructions herein shown and described, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the winding-shaft of the actuating-spring of a spring drum or roller the journals of which are adapted to turn freely within the supporting-bearings of the brackets of the fixture, a crank-handle permanently attached to said winding-shaft and formed or provided with means for engagement with one of the supporting-brackets of the fixture, the whole arranged and operating together in substantially the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with the windingshaft of a spring drum or roller and one of the brackets by which said roller is supported, of a crank-handle permanently connected with the protruding end of said windingshaft, and a hand-piece longitudinally adjustable relatively to the crank-handle, and operating to serve when adjusted to one position the purposes of a handle and when adjusted to the other position the purposes of a stop to engage with the said bracket and prevent any rotation of the roller, all substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of June, 1889.

LEWVIS F. GRISWOLD In presence of WM. F. RIGHTMYER, W. I-LLYoN. 

